She groaned again.
“I believe in you, Heather. You can do this.”
Scarlet followed Nate into the tunnel where they had some privacy. “What’s up?”
He looked her over with a serious expression. “Are you still considering sacrificing yourself?”
“Yes.”
He sighed. “Then I’m going to tell you what I told Tristan when he was trying to kill himself,” he said. “You’re stupid.”
Scarlet shook her head. “I won’t let Heather die, Nate. We can’t cure her unless I do this. And we can’t break the curse and save Tristan unless I do this. I’m not going to let the people I love die. Wouldn’t you do the same thing?”
“What about Raven? Maybe we can accidentally push her into the tree and oops! she’s dead, but yay! we have fountain water.”
“That’s a great plan.” Scarlet nodded. “And I’d loved to bring Raven down, but there’s no certainty in that plan. We don’t even know if she’ll be there. I’m not taking any chances.”
Nate nodded with pursed lips. “I was doing some reading in your father’s journal today and I found out what controls your return to life. It’s the Avalon tree. It bares the Avalon fruit once every century, and when that fruit blossoms, it calls you back to life. And when you die, so does the fruit. But if the fruit is eaten, then the Avalon will die.”
Scarlet blinked. “Well, good. The Fountain of Youth has never done anything positive for anyone. I hope it dies.”
“You don’t understand. If the Avalon dies, you can never come back to life. There’s no hope of it.”
“Okay…? What are you saying?”
“I’m saying, don’t die, dammit! There’s no safety net here—no chance of you returning.”
“I know that. And I’m fine with it.”
“But I’m not.” He shook his head. “This curse has been robbing you of joy and love for five hundred years. I’m not giving up yet. There has to be another way.”
“There is no other way,” she said. “And I’ve already made my decision.”
CHAPTER 42
Team Awesome walked in silence through a dark tunnel as they neared the Fountain of Youth.
The tunnel fed into a large, open cavern with a tall ceiling that glowed a bright blue just like the walls below it. Dozens of other tunnels lined the chamber, their black mouths looking ominous under the pulsing blue.
And in the center of the chamber, standing tall and majestic, was a large tree.
The Avalon.
It rose from the earth with long, thick roots spreading across the cavern floor and a vast canopy of blue-tipped leaves stretching out over its mighty trunk.
Everything about the tree looked like life. Even the iridescent trunk under the leaves—which, according to the journal, was immediate death to anyone who touched it—was beckoning in its design. Its deadly beauty stood silent; waiting for a heart to give itself over in return for eternal water.
Scarlet could understand now how those who made it this far would be tempted to touch the great Avalon. Even knowing the death it brought, Scarlet couldn’t seem to pull her eyes away from the iridescent glow of life pulsing from its trunk.
“Wow,” Heather whispered. “It’s so beautiful.”
“Yes…” Scarlet cleared her throat. “But no one touch the trunk. A single touch is fatal and we are all mortal down here.”
Everyone slowly nodded with their eyes fixed on the iridescent beauty before them.
Gabriel said, “Where’s the water?”
Scarlet was hoping no one would ask that question.
“It’s coming,” she said, her insides pulling tight.
She looked at Tristan, then at Heather.
Her death for their lives.
It wasn’t even a question.
Suddenly, Ashmen poured from the tunnels around the room, some clambering over roots to get to the tree while others charged at Scarlet and her friends.
Heather bit at her nails.
The Ashmen nearest the tree turned to ash. A few more Ashmen tried to get close to the tree and they fell to ash as well. It was as if there was an invisible perimeter around the Avalon that prevented them from nearing.
Scarlet really hoped that perimeter was Ashman-specific and not another obstacle for her to overcome. The Ashmen heading for Team Awesome gained ground.
“What do we do?” Heather asked, half hiding behind Gabriel.
Tristan grabbed the bow from his back. “We fight.”
Gabriel looked at Heather intently. “You can do this.” He handed her a knife.
She nodded as Gabriel armed himself with his own knives, and Nate pulled a dagger.
Scarlet turned to Heather. “Stay right by me, got it?”
As the Ashmen closed in, Team Awesome parted ways. Gabriel and Nate went to the left, cutting through the oncoming Ashmen while Tristan headed to the right with arrows already darting through the air and sinking into Ashman hearts one by one.
Scarlet scanned the great, blue room for Raven, but saw no sign of the witch. Grabbing Heather’s hand, she headed for the Avalon. She grabbed the bow from her back and quickly drew arrow after arrow, shooting down the Ashmen that stood between her and the tree.
Heather held a knife in her hand as they moved forward and Scarlet tried to keep any approaching Ashmen at bay with her arrows.
Scarlet saw Tristan perched at the top of a large rock on the chamber floor, shooting arrows into countless Ashmen as they came for him. He didn’t see the Ashmen climbing up behind him.
Scarlet adjusted her bow and shot down the Ashmen at Tristan’s back, before turning back around to clear a path to the Avalon.
At the side of the room, Gabriel was steadily hacking through Ashmen as Nate held his daggers with a happy glint in his eyes.
Scarlet grabbed Heather’s hand, leading her over roots and ash toward the tree. But Ashmen continued to pour in from the tunnels, blocking their path.
She pulled Heather back and drew more arrows.
Bluestone axes, knives, arrows, maces…weapons of every type were clutched in the rigid hands of the Ashmen scattering through the cavern as they pressed in on them. Scarlet aimed, released, and retrieved. Over and over, ash falling everywhere.
She glanced at the rock where Tristan had been and found it abandoned. Panic sucked the heartbeat from her chest as she darted her eyes around the room.
She found him hacking through the oppressing Ashmen in the corner. He was steady and precise, but he was one against many, and his body was already covered in blood. A thick gash cut the side of his head and his back was slashed open.
She drew back and shot a few arrows into the Ashmen around Tristan, cutting down their numbers.
Heather screamed and Scarlet spun around as a heavy Bluestone axe came at her head.
She ducked, but not before the side of her face was nicked by the sharp blade. She put away her bow and grabbed two daggers, arming each hand. She started to wildly cut through the Ashmen coming at them. Ash flew through the air, spraying out across the cave floor and over the great roots of the tree.
Heather fought as well, hacking into the creatures coming at her. A blow to the back of Scarlet’s head caught her by surprise and she was thrown to the ground.
Blackness shut out her vision momentarily and when her sight returned, Scarlet found herself being yanked up by her throat as an Ashman lifted her off the ground and held her bleeding body above the chaos.
Below her, Heather was overpowered by two Ashmen who dragged her toward the Avalon.